Blind Rage

[Chloe/Kat]

A table was broken in two and thrown halfway across the room and shattered against the wall by the might of the pissed off vampiress. "That bitch! I trusted her!" Chloe grabbed a nearby vase and threw it into the wall in the midst of her blind rage not caring that she was trashing the house of Sazan and Michael. "How could she do this to me? How could she!?" The vampiress lifted up the leather couch and threw it out the window, Hallowton wasn't used to so much violence from within one of their own houses so it had caused some alarm from the natives passing by in the middle of the night. Chloe was too far gone in rage to really care about any of that. A woman she had placed trust in betrayed and left her to rot and she never had the chance to snap her throat for it.

"She said she'd always be there. She-she said she lo- FUCKING, BITCH!" Chloe hit the wall, as hard as she could, her arm going right through it with little effort. It was strange. The vampiress didn't feel any pain at all from the punch, you think something inside would at least be broken and need regeneration time due to the concrete but no, Chloe didn't know if her powers were growing naturally or if anger was making her more stronger than usual. For now she wouldn't care. Right now Chloe just wanted to rip something apart and unfortunately for her new found friends, this house became that something.

[Silver Eyes]

A taloned hand wrapped around Chloe's wrist, spun her around and pushed her against the wall she partially demolished from her rampage. Staring her down was Argus but he didn't look angered at her for the mess she made; he overheard much of what she had screamed. Argus was pitying her? Maybe. Michael won't be happy to see so much damage but at least the vampire had enough control to take her anger out on inanimate objects.

He didn't tell her to calm. Instead, he gently released her hand and pocketed his as best as he could. The sharp, metal tips did have a tendency to rip through cloth and he rarely removed the gauntlet. Preparation was always key during these times and one weapon was better than none.

The hybrid continued to stare at Chloe then took the time to really look over the damage she had caused. Yeah, if Amoura won't get her for this then it'll be either Sazan or Michael. His free hand gestured towards the couch; he was hoping she'd sit down and begin the process of calming down rather than continuing to take down the house.

[Chloe/Kat]

When Chloe felt the taloned hand touch her flash backs to what Amoura did to her back in that cave flashed through her mind, but when she saw the man wasn't hurting her she calmed down. Chloe stared back into the hybrid's eyes a bit more longingly than he, she opened her mouth to speak several times but could find no words to express what she was feeling right now so instead took the man's invite to sit over on the couch. The vampiress still wanted to snap someone's neck but opt for making herself comfortable on the couch, looking back over to Argus. He was like Amoura in every way, only with a penis. That made her wonder if there was an alternate reality version of herself running around with a penis.

"How much of that did you hear?" Chloe started biting her nails, a habit she had broken in the past only to start up again now. She didn't like the idea of anyone overhearing her private conversation to herself, though it was her own fault for screaming it so who knows how many people overheard the things she said. Dianne. Dianne made her feel rage she didn't feel since she still hated Amoura for what she did back out at that desert. "I'll find a way to pay for the damages, though I don't have any money right now. I didn't even have any money in my own world and I knew what the currency was there."

[Silver Eyes]

"All of it." Argus took a seat by Chloe and hunched forward, his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands clasped together. Unlike Amoura, he was more often seen out of his armor around the house and in more civilian clothes: jeans, dark blue, cotton T-shirt and brown tennis shoes. Neither were about fashion. "Relax. You're not in trouble. Michael returned to this place when it was ransacked by demons a few months before any of the group returned. Easily repaired." Argus wet his dried lips and looked at Chloe. "Betrayal is never an easy to handle. Amoura and I never take it lightly."

It was easy to tell he had endured the same thing on the same scale; he never saw his pains as being greater than others. Perhaps sharing the story, briefly, will show her that he's on the same page, "I was in love with a vampire named Raiza. While not the nicest woman, she helped me climb out of the insanity I was spiraling down into from the Nightmares that you also suffer from. For me it's...much, much more intense. Raiza pulled me from its grasp and after being with her for years I fell for her. I never told her and she never told me her bloodlust was gradually taking over. One day..." Argus frowned, "I got careless. I wasn't being cautious and I killed someone. Raiza approached me and she made me drink her blood. I found out she's been betraying me for months by killing humans behind my back. She tried to kill me after that. Brokenhearted, I ran."

It was evident a part of him still loved her. "Trust me when I say that not only do we understand, but everyone else in this misfit of a group. We know what it's like. We're family. You can talk to us."

[Chloe/Kat]

Chloe didn't know what to say. The woman had foolishly thought that she was the only one whoever faced this kind of problem, at least, it was easy to feel that way when you saw nobody to turn to. Chloe hasn't been with the group for very long and didn't think she had earned their trust enough to go talking to them about her own problems. They had quite a handful of problems all their own that had nothing to do with betrayal, at least that what she thought up until now. Maybe the pain of betrayal ran more deep in most of them than she had thought.

"You're too kind.... but I already know that.... that I still need to earn trust with the rest of them before I have the right- at least that's the way I feel. If you're Amoura, and you both felt the same pain then.... then it's a wonder how either one of you can trust again. I barely knew the person that betrayed me but, she said she was going to help me. She said she would make me a beautiful creature of the night, that she cared for me. Then what happens? I catch her in a threesome with a slut and a pig and then she abandons me because she doesn't like the situation here? No shit! Nobody likes the situation here!"

Chloe stood up, pacing back and forth in front of Argus while tugging on her pigtails in anger. Thankfully she wasn't angry enough to tear them out of her head. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she lost her hair. Moon Valley? Chloe was doing much better with keeping the thing on her head these days. "All my life I based my work around a plan. A plan that was going to help me be somebody, you know? I missed out on so many things while growing up because of it. Friends, boys, hell I even regret never jumping in puddles and getting my clothes dirty! I sacrificed so much to be great and what do I have to show for it? Nothing! Nothing! I was in debt up to my neck because of college, I couldn't find a job, my parents couldn't get over how much of a failure I was to be parents, depression.... then I find the nearest bar get drunk off my ass, led to a cab where I later get raped, killed and dump in a grave!" Tears flowed freely down Chloe's cheeks, until now the vampire didn't think it was possible for her to cry anymore and she hasn't even gotten to the nightmares plaguing her yet. "I wasted my life.... and I have nobody to blame but myself."

[Silver Eyes]

Argus' visage softened at Chloe's story about her life. Who'd have thought more than one person in this group had to endure so much? "Hey, hey." Argus got up from the couch, stood in her path and placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing. "We learned to trust again because we have people who care about us. Well, her more than I but you get my point." He withdrew his hands, "You're not an enemy or an outcast with us, Chloe. You can talk to any of us about this. Though, the best would be Sparda; he has a lot of words of wisdom but you can also talk to myself. You're becoming part of the family." Since his counter self gave Chloe the Nightmare he felt it best to leave her out of the very, very short list.

There was something he wanted to talk to her about and it entailed her speech about wasting her life. The hybrid gave her a crooked smile and folded his arms, "You know what I see right now, Chloe?" He started walking around her, "A second chance. I know you feel like you wasted your life but you are here still with a means to become somebody. I never was human yet I took the time to enjoy my life. Just because you are a vampire doesn't mean you can't live."

Argus never thought the roles would reverse. Raiza and the Sparda from his realm always gave him truthful, soothing speeches to make him realize that not all who wander are lost. Raiza...he puffed out a lungful of air and pushed the memories aside.

"Look at how far you've come. You've beat back your bloodlust long enough to gain control, you're learning how to use your abilities and you're learning to handle the Nightmare a lot better than anyone else I've seen. You've got a lot of strength in here." Argus poked her forehead with his forefinger, "And that will definitely get you far."

[Chloe/Kat]

Chloe body tensed up when Argus' hands touched her skin at first but it soon relaxed as he began to speak. His words, the warmth of his body staying with her even after his hands left her, it was all very soothing. She never wanted him to leave her now, to express this the vampiress suddenly embraced the man and rested the right side of her head on his breast, holding him close to her to be soothed further by his warmth. She didn't care how this could come across to Argus or anyone who could end up entering the room, the only thing she cared about was feeling loved and appreciated for the first time since God knows when.

"Thank you!" was all she could muster out as she held onto him. Slowly was she forgetting about the traitorous bitch and focusing more on what was right in front of her. Hallowton wasn't the worst place in the universe to live and she had plenty of friends here now that would watch her back. Relying on one person so heavily as she did with Dianne was no longer require, that said, she still felt herself strangely more drawn to this man than the others. Perhaps it was lust, perhaps it was love, perhaps it was something else entirely. But for now Chloe just wanted to be in his arms. That's it. She wasn't going to try to kiss him or anything. She just wanted to lean on him for now.

[Silver Eyes]

Argus wasn't expecting a hug from the distraught Chloe but once he got over the initial shock, he felt like he was experiencing a deja vu from another point of view. Raiza had often held him whenever he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, or he'd give a rare embrace to her to feel a sense of stability. Whenever he was held it was the greatest feeling in the world and only Raiza had that affect on him. His hand rested atop Chloe's head and he tilted his down to look at her. Argus never was one for intimacy of any kind, even a simple handshake, but exceptions existed—they were few.

"I'm stating the truth. You don't have to thank me." Argus let a soft chuckle emit and he allowed the vampiress to keep hugging him. Once upon a time, he was in her shoes; he saw a lot of his old self in her coupled with potential. Chloe could still enjoy life, the burdens on her weren't as grand and those may gradually dissipate. "I am curious. How has your management of the Nightmare been coming along? I hope this isn't a bad time to ask."

[Chloe/Kat]

Chloe didn't want to pull away from Argus but she couldn't help but sense that something was wrong. She slowly pulled away from the man and looked up at him slightly. "I'm sorry am I making you feel uncomfortable?" Chloe was the polar opposite when it came to intimacy, she couldn't get enough of it. Dianne had managed to help her through the scars of being raped so she could be comfortable again and now she was desperately trying to find someone to fill that missing void of intimacy she originally received from Dianne. Little did she realize just how much of a bad choice she made in Argus. Chloe also couldn't decide how much of this was genuine and how much was just rebounding on the first person that gave her the time of day. He asked about the nightmares, that would make an acceptable change of topic for now.

"It's not any better or worse honestly. I try to focus on the strongest memories I have that are positive but there are still days where I'm tempted to just give up and die....now that I know however there's no escape from it even in death the temptation doesn't last very long." The vampiress started to idly run a hand through her right pigtail while looking up at Argus again. It was ironic come to think of it. Chloe had hated Amoura so much when she started out and now she was slowly starting to fall for her male counterpart. Hilarious. "How do you normally manage it?"

[Silver Eyes]

"I'm just not the type of person to be intimate is all." Argus explained, "It's just how I am." He tapped his talons against his leg idly while awaiting an explanation from Chloe about the Nightmare. To hear it hadn't gotten worse was a good sign but the fact it wasn't ebbing away did give him a slight cause for concern. "Well, in your case, you could say the Nightmare is like doses of poison. You gradually get used to it to the point of immunity and the power it has over your mind fades. It doesn't leave you out of the woods but you can start to forget about it at times." Argus held out his hand to her, the one without the ghastly metal steak knives.

"However, there's more to the Nightmare that I will show you. It may help speed up the process of adaption and more. I'll take us to the roof."

[Chloe/Kat]

"Oh. I see." A hint of sorrow and disappointment could be detected in her voice at that revelation. Realizing she had requested possibly more comfort than the man would be willing to provide her. Although if it was possible for him to love at all then there was still hope she could grow to be more than just the exception to the rule. For now however, the vampiress would practice restraint while around the hybrid not wanting to scare him off or make the feelings she were developing for him obvious. "Of course." Chloe took his hand and stayed close to the hybrid, ready for whatever it was he wanted to show her on the roof.

[Silver Eyes]

"Alright. Here we go." Argus clenched her hand tightly, cast his gaze to the ceiling and jumped. Both of them phased through all stories of the house--with the contact he had with Chloe he was able to make her form intangible. Cold air brushed past them, the sensation of traveling through a narrow, damp tunnel passed over and they stood on the roof. "Alright. I'm going to cast the 'Waking Nightmare' or the 'Nightmare' as we sometimes coin it. What you see will not harm you. Just stick close."

Then, it happened. The sudden change of scenery could be compared to black ink being poured into water until there was nothing but darkness in its wake. Chloe will feel cold water rush past her ankles but something wasn't right with how it flowed around her--it's as if though it were alive. Should the blond look down she'll realize it wasn't water at all. "Remember this isn't real." They were jet black, ghost-like figures with red eyes, wide open mouths and they continuously streamed past the two.

They were everywhere. The entire city was bathed in red light and from each home they poured out like great waterfalls to form large series of rivers in the streets. They were groaning in unison, some wailing; few chose to remain quiet in their misery. Then, rotted corpses shot out from the mass and unleashed horrible screeches. Blood sprayed from their mouths, ran down their bodies and they were re-consumed, unable to free themselves.

"This is easily a mild form of the 'Nightmare', believe it or not. When I was first infected I couldn't escape from it. Always I'd hear the prophecies, everything turned against me, and what's worse is the injuries I received while having the visions transferred to my body in the real world." Argus placed his talons onto Chloe's shoulder, "However, when Veran departed, he left a piece of himself in all versions of myself--we have the power over fear. The Nightmare is a powerful ability. We can cast illusions of our choosing. What I want you to do right now is change this Nightmare to anything of your choosing. It doesn't always have to be this gruesome but this is the natural way its done. This will take concentration. A lot of it. I'm relinquishing control to you."

[Chloe/Kat]

Apparently using stairs were out of style as Argus phased them through to the roof. Standing there with his hand in hers had a sorta romantic vibe to it even though the vampiress knew that couldn't be farthest from his intentions, whatever they may be. Chloe would come to greatly dislike his real intentions as everything around them began to fall to the nightmares, the same nightmares that continued to haunt her still to this day. Argus would soon feel all of Chloe's superhuman strength go into her hand and threaten to crush his out of fear as a result. As much as the vampiress wanted to beat this, she couldn't. Instead Chloe fell down to her knees and started to cry, having no control over her surroundings as the nightmares only began to get worse. "Argus, I can't! Please! Make it stop!" Chloe refused to let go of Argus' hand, afraid those things would pull her away into the abyss if her grip on his hand weakened even for a moment. "Please make it stop!"

[Silver Eyes]

The intensity of the Nightmare dimmed during her cries. Argus was disappointed to see Chloe was unable to handle it at this level but he understood that some have to start off smaller than others. In the face of the harsh trainings he had to endure from Raiza, he could understand this completely. The city filled with lost, wailing souls came to a halt, flashed red, and the scenery changed to something much more tolerable.

A typical zombie invasion.

Yes, sometimes the cliched was necessary. "Alright, I made it much simpler now. Try to change it into anything you can think of. The more control you gain over the Nightmare, the less it will gradually have over you. One day you won't be that affected by it if you keep this up. Now, go ahead and try." He patiently waited to see what she could do.

[Chloe/Kat]

There it was, the reoccurring theme in Chloe's life; disappointment. It was present in Argus' face just like it was in the others before him. It seem be the only thing the vampiress has perfected; being a disappointment. That belief ate her up inside and only caused for more tears to shed as she couldn't think of anything to change this nightmare into. Chloe just wanted it to stop. Chloe's wish would come true as, without realizing it, the zombies started to rot away until they crumbled into ash on the ground. They remained in Hallowton but the zombies were all but dust in the wind as the ashes were blown through the air by the harsh power of the wind.

"Don't look at me. Just don't look at me!" She was upset still, not knowing anything that was going on in her own surroundings. Chloe didn't want Argus to see her like this, weak and openly weeping while trying so hard to stop. But seeing the same disappointment in his eyes as her parents was just enough to kill her. The vampiress was about to run away into the night until she noticed how quiet it has became all of a sudden. No noises came from the undead and after wiping away her tears to see clearly Chloe found them to be gone. "I-I did it!" Chloe jumped up to her feet. "I did it!" I-" Chloe stopped herself and looked back to Argus, remembering how much weakness she has shown in front of him already. "So....how much of that crying did you see?"